So I guess we are all aware of the in production Alec Baldwin movie to be called Rust. And of course the misfortune that happened in the shooting…so to speak..,during the filming. Something seems very wrong here. I have been around firearms for a long part of my life and know how to use them. I am not a gun nut but I know quite a bit about them.

So I ask myself “how could what they call an armoror (is that how you spell it?) someone who is supposed to be in control of the safety, handling, and distribution of all the firearms used on a set let a hot loaded gun be handed to the actor Baldwin? This simply does not make sense. Either the armorers were profoundly negligent, or somebody deliberately loaded a hot real bullet into the gun. Otherwise nothing makes sense to me in this unfortunate event.

Jeff, I would like you to weigh in here.

I understand police found bins with blank and live rounds mixed together, as well as a fanny pack containing both. Another actor made the same mistake just two days before, and fired two live rounds that should have been blanks. Sounds like they substituted a gun nut for a professional armorer. But why the hell should movie sets have ANY live rounds?.

Well that’s a good question. Apparently they were plinking in between takes but that has nothing to do with the making of the movie. So I suppose the question becomes are live rounds common on sets during the making of movies?

I have no idea.

I’m only reporting what I remember hearing on NPR - Which is that live rounds are used to produce a convincing muzzle flash. For years they’ve had the ability to add these flashes in post-production; they haven’t done it because it does look authentic.

Bet they’ll start doing it now, though.

Blank rounds give you a muzzle flash, too. The difference is the bullet part. Instead of lead with maybe some other metals included, blanks have something soft, like paper, plastic, felt, or cotton. This "non-bullet" slows down within a few feet. Of course, the explosive force can still kill at very close range.

All I want to point out is the fact that we've had real guns "on set" with real bullets for as long as motion pictures have existed.
Literally MILLIONS of rounds fired and through it all the number of shooting deaths in production has been remarkably rare.
Movies and television have a damn good track record on this for a reason.

Breaking Bad
Saving Private Ryan
Apocalypse Now
Full Metal Jacket
Scarface
Forrest Gump

I could fill ten pages right here if I tried to list all the movies and TV shows that used real guns with real bullets ALONG WITH "cold" prop guns.
And the reason WHY we haven't seen tons of actors and crew dropping like flies is because on an I.A.T.S.E. union set, you either follow the RULES or you're GONE in a heartbeat.

This film "RUST" was a non-union turkey and the best IATSE on set armorers turned DOWN the chance to work with Alec Baldwin BECAUSE they could see from a mile off that it was a set of giant red flags.

PS: I am still in favor of the IA calling for an extended strike because while some feel the contract talks were a success, I do not.
Streaming compensation is still pauper territory and worst of all, the power of the union is once again diminished.
For instance, if the IA was as potent as it used to be when I WAS a member, they could have shut that entire production down in a heartbeat.

I suspect no one was in the mood for an extended walkout because of the past year of pandemic, however I still remain in favor of a strike anyway, and if not right now, next year.

OK Jeff so that is all good. But why are live rounds used on a set? I guess what I’m asking is….in what situations are they used for?

Saves money on post, much more convincing on impact.
But you're right if you're saying it's not always necessary.
Production wanted Mel to actually SHOOT the aquarium with a live round on Lethal Weapon 2 but Mel argued that he wasn't 100% sure he could hit it in exactly the right spot for maximum effect.
Yes, he said he knew he COULD HIT the aquarium alright, but he wasn't comfortable with having other talent so close.

So they used clever editing and a squibb (remote impact charge or detonator) to crack the glass instead.

I said on other sites, maybe here too, but on another thread, that the round was live and one of the disgruntled set people who walked off that morning put it in the gun

Doesn't matter who put the round in the firearm or even if their intent was malicious.

The armorer should never have assumed the weapon was empty!

That armorer should NEVER work at that job again. I bet movie insurers start insisting on union armorers from now on.

Alec Baldwin charged with involuntary manslaughter. SAG-AFTRA defends Alec Baldwin amid charges in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting: ‘Wrong and uninformed.'

She wasn't union? Is this production non-union? If so, there you have it.

It was a union production but six principal IATSE union members walked off in the early hours, specifically citing safety gripes, particularly gun safety.
The armorer who handed the gun to Baldwin was a rookie who had only been lead armorer on one other movie before. After the walkoff, producers hired NON-UNION replacements.